The Primary RItuximab and MAintenance (PRIMA) study aimed to evaluate the benefit of rituximab (R) maintenance in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) after response to a first line R-chemotherapy induction. This study was based on previous evidence suggesting that rituximab maintenance provides significant clinical benefit to FL patients. The ASH oral presentation provided the 10-year updated results of the PRIMA trial. This article is based on data presented at the live session, which may supersede information in the pre-published ASH Abstract.

Study Highlights

Patients with FL were randomized firstly to an R-chemotherapy induction regime and then randomized to either observation or to receive R-maintenance (375 mg/m2) every 8 weeks for 2 years

A total of 607 patients were available for follow-up with a median of 9.7 years

The 10-year updated results showed that R-maintenance after induction immunochemotherapy had enduring PFS benefit compared with observation. Although the OS survival was not significantly different between the two groups, patients with high tumor burden had an 80% chance of survival at ten years. Gillies Salles concluded that “with more than half of the patients responding to rituximab chemo and having received rituximab maintenance with a free-of-disease recurrence at 10 years, should we really continue to say that follicular lymphoma is an incurable disease?”

Watch the full interview with Gilles Salles discussing the results of the PRIMA study here.

Professional society

The European Lymphoma Institute is comprised of a network of top European specialists in the field of lymphoma who are dedicated to research, training and education. Together they look to define strategies to analyse and characterize lymphoma and its common diagnostic procedures and therapeutic standards, as well as to facilitate clinical and fundamental research. This all results in the advancement of lymphoma research and it guarantees equal access for all patients to the best possible care.